International Houses worldwide

International House is part of a worldwide group of International Houses, including houses in Australia, Europe and North America. All are committed to giving students of different nationalities and cultures the opportunity to live and learn together in a community of mutual respect, understanding and friendship.

The International House movement was founded by Harry Edmonds who, as a young man working for the New York YMCA in 1909, had a chance meeting with a Chinese student. Edmond's casual "good morning" on the steps of the Columbia University library provoked the response: "I've been in New York three weeks, and you are the first person who has spoken to me." Inspired by this experience, Edmonds decided to investigate the situation of foreign students in New York City. With the funding and support of John D. Rockefeller, Jr., the first International House opened in New York in 1924.

All International Houses offer people from every part of the world the chance to learn more about one another and the world in which they live, while pursuing their own personal goals. In a carefully nurtured environment, boundaries are crossed, cultural gaps are bridged and people of vastly divergent beliefs learn to accept differences in thought and tradition. In the International Houses, future leaders of the worldwide community begin the process of international understanding that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives.